Not Alone Tonight
by tzaya
Summary: "I know what's best for you, Shizu-chan. You really should listen to me, sometimes." (shizuo/izaya)(oneshot / fluff / domestic)


"I'm home."

It was already late night, and he barely managed to avoid the random mug laid on the floor— if it wasn't for his careful attitude, he would've slipped and made a ruckus. The mug was empty of liquid, but there was an out of place, dark spot on the carpet, noted Izaya. Shizuo had clearly forgotten to clean up the mess when he spilled the drink (most likely milk), or he simply couldn't be bothered to.

Why'd a beast act like a human and live in a clean environment, anyway?

Izaya sneaked a glance in Shizuo's direction when he retrieved the mug to keep it in his clutch; his index and middle fingers hooked around the holder with the thought of cleaning it in mind. The wind from the opened window was chill, brushing across the fine hairs at the nape of his neck as he leaned back against the wall, crimson eyes narrowing to make out the details of the sleeping figure before him.

The darkness made it harder for him to scrutinize every feature that Shizuo had, but he still could see certain things, at the very least— like how Shizuo's lips were parted as though he was breathing through them instead, or the strands of his hair sticking out from every angle and even going as far as to poke him in the corner of his eye, which only resulted in Shizuo grimacing as he shifted into a more comfortable position.

"And you didn't even wait for me to be off of work," Izaya exhaled a sigh, letting the gaze linger for a moment before turning to step into the kitchen instead, which, turned out to be no better than the living room. The cluttered state the kitchen was in was enough to make his shoulders droop in distaste, despite his arm already stretching out to turn the sink on; water pressure set on low so he wouldn't wake Shizuo up.

"There are so many dirty dishes that if I didn't know you, I'd have thought you had guests over! I thought we went over this already, Shizu-chan," he tossed his fur trimmed jacket aside and rolled his sleeves up until they reached his elbows, "You should just wash them right after the meal, then they wouldn't be piling up like this." He spoke as if Shizuo was right behind him at the table, listening to his nagging, but of course, only silence greeted him instead.

"How would you survive without me?"

That was what he got from having work that required him meeting various clients at various places until late night, he supposed. He only had himself to talk to.

"I know what's best for you, Shizu-chan. You really should listen to me, sometimes."

The squeaky sounds from the cloth rubbing against the plates filled the entire kitchen, or perhaps _the entire house_ , considering all the spaces were so close to each other. It was a surprise Shizuo still hadn't woken up. Izaya was still gathering information as to if Shizuo was really a hundred-percent a heavy sleeper. If he was to use his knowledge from back when they attended Raijin, it was difficult to wake Shizuo up— but this wasn't a reliable data, as everyone changes as they grow up.

He'd have to spend more nights with Shizuo than his computer from now on.

By the time Izaya was done with the dishes, it was already three in the morning; one look at the clock had him feeling exhausted, recalling that he had to get up early later. His footsteps were light as he made his way to the bedroom, the door was left ajar as if Shizuo knew he'd come home tonight. The first thing he noticed when he was in was the smell of alcohol, which had him crinkling his nose, hand brought up to massage the spot between his brows. He couldn't quite put it, but the thought of Shizuo drinking with his co-workers didn't give him good feelings, especially when one of them was Vorona Douglanikov.

It wouldn't take a genius to be aware of the interest Vorona had taken in Shizuo, and it wasn't one as she'd claimed so; an enemy to conquer. Instead, her eyes glimmered when Shizuo acted kind towards her, or even said a word to her. She never did continue to fight Shizuo, which defeated the whole purpose of having that goal in the first place when she didn't bother to put any effort into it.

Izaya knew Vorona was hostile when it came to him, too. It was the only good thing of this; to know that the feeling was mutual.

"Did you drink with that kouhai of yours?" he jutted his bottom lip out in a small pout, nudging the tip of his finger against Shizuo's nose once he got in the bed, lying on his side with his head propped up using his free hand.

Shizuo didn't respond.

"Can't you show me a good expression for once, perhaps the warm one you always show your friends?"

No retort came, neither did a growl—it was a little disappointing, if he was to be honest. Truthfully, the first few times he'd done this, Shizuo had actually woken up with a puzzled expression on his face, sleepy gaze darting to each corner of the room despite how sneaky and slick Izaya tried to be. That kind of response probably came to be because of all the attempts people did (some of them were from Izaya as well) to kill him in his sleep. Well, it was _that_ , and also the fact that Shizuo had always mentioned that he could recognize Izaya's scent.

Now, four months in, and Shizuo barely reacted, probably because he had gotten too used to the scent— not that it wouldn't be fine if he didn't anyway, since Izaya had learnt by now that the closet is a good hiding place.

Shizuo would probably go berserk if he found out.

"You're not waking up from my voice?"

"Nng."

"Haha! Shizu-chan's just thinking that it's a bad dream."

The pillows felt comfortable underneath his tired body, and he let out another chortle when Shizuo's brows knitted, reacting to the familiar laughter that belonged to his nemesis. He didn't flutter his eyes shut right away, but let them gradually close on their own; the last image he saw before he drifted to sleep was Shizuo's sleeping face, and his hand coiled around Shizuo's pinky finger, which gave him comfort knowing that he wasn't alone in his bed that night.

"Goodnight, Shizu-chan."


End file.
